GOVERNMENT/CIVICS
UNDERSTANDINGS
SS7CG6
The student will compare and contrast
various forms of government.
a. Describe the ways government
systems distribute power: unitary,
confederation, and federal.
1
A unitary government system is one in which the
central government holds nearly all of the power.
In a unitary system, local governments such as
state or county systems may have some power at
certain times, but they are basically under
the control of the central government.
The People’s Republic of China (flag above) is an example
of a unitary government.
2
The central government has the power to change
the way state or county governments operate or
abolish them altogether. Some unitary
governments have officials who, once elected,
may make and enforce laws without taking
the opinions of those at lower levels of
government into consideration.
Officials, past and present, in China’s government.
3
In a monarchy, which is an area ruled by a king or
emperor, the ruler and his advisors make most of
the decisions. This would be an example of a unitary
government. Some of the countries in Southern and
Eastern Asia have unitary forms of government. The
communist government of the People’s Republic of
China is an example of a unitary government.
Above: Image of dictator Mao Zedong, first chairman of
the Communist party in China
4
The government of Japan also has a unitary system
of government. It’s a constitutional monarchy.
That means that even though Japan has an emperor,
his powers are restricted to those granted under
the constitution or laws of the nation. The Emperor
of Japan is head of state and is a symbol of the
country, but has no political power. He has
ceremonial duties, but he doesn’t take part in
the day-to-day politics of the government.
Above: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
5
The power in the Japanese
government is in the hands of the
Japanese Diet, a two-house
legislature that is elected by
the Japanese people.
6
A confederation government system is
one in which local governments hold all of
the power and the central government
depends on the local governments for its
existence. The central government has
only as much power as the local
governments are willing to give.
7
The United Nations is a good
example of a confederation. The
United Nations can only offer advice
and assistance when the member
nations agree to cooperate.
Above: Flag of the United Nations
8
Examples of confederations that can be found
among the countries of Southern and Eastern
Asia would include the Association of Southeast
Asian nations or ASEAN.This organization
is a regional group organized to help the
member nations cooperate on economic matters,
encourage cultural exchanges, and to help keep
peace and stability in the region.
9
A federal government system is a political
system in which power is shared among different
levels of government. The states have some
powers that the federal government doesn’t have,
such as the right to collect property taxes
and determine state sales taxes. The national
government also has some powers that the
states don’t, such as the right to declare war
and make treaties with foreign governments.
10
In Southern and Eastern Asia, the country of
India is a good example of a federal form of
government. The Indian National Congress is a
two-house legislature made up of representatives
elected from all across the country who are
chosen in a general election in which all citizens
age 18 years and older are eligible to vote.
Above: Flag of the Indian National Congress
11
Once the Indian National Congress
is elected, the majority political
party then chooses someone to serve
as prime minister.
Above: Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh
12
SS7CG6
The student will compare and
contrast various forms
of government.
b. Explain how governments
determine citizenship
participation: autocratic,
oligarchic, and democratic.
13
People who live under different kinds
of governments often find there are
great differences in the rights given
to individual citizens.
Not every government believes that
all citizens have rights.
14
An autocratic government is one in which the
ruler has absolute power to do whatever he
wishes and make and enforce whatever laws he
chooses. Individuals who live under autocratic
governments don’t have any rights to choose
leaders or to vote on which laws are
made and put into practice.
North Korea (flag above) is an autocratic government run
by Communist dictator Kim Jong-Il.
15
Some autocratic governments may allow people
rights in certain areas like managing local affairs,
but the central government keeps control of all
the most important aspects of the country’s
life. In North Korea, that even
includes entertainment like movies.
Kim Jung Il wanted North Korean movies to be as good as those in South
Korea, so he had South Korean director Shin Sang-Ok locked in prison,
and the director’s wife, actress Choe Un-Hee, locked in his palace. They
were told that the only way they could see one another again 16
was if they would make movies for him.
In an autocratic system, people
usually have little or no power to use
against the government if they
disagree with decisions that the
government or ruler has made.
17
There are many different types of autocratic
governments. The Communist government of
North Korea could be an example of an autocratic
government. In North Korea, Kim Jong-Il holds
the office of premier and head of the national
Defense Commission, the two most powerful
positions in the government. He rules
North Korea as an autocratic dictator.
18
An oligarchy [ŏl-ĭ-gahr-kēē] means “government
by the few”. In this form of government, a
political party or other small group takes over a
government and makes all of the major decisions.
The people of the country have very little choice
but to go along. This sort of government can be
very similar to an autocratic government.
Above: Propaganda poster put out by the Chinese Communist
party, the group that runs China’s government.
19
The government of the People’s Republic of
China could be considered an oligarchic
government, as the leaders of the Chinese
Communist Party control most of what
goes on in the country.
Above: Hu Jintao is currently the Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of
China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, 20
and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004.
In a democratic government system, the
people play a much greater role in deciding
who the rulers are and what decisions are
made. Democracy comes from the Greek
word “demos,” which means people. In this
form of government, a great deal of power is
left in the hands of the people themselves.
(Left to Right) Flags of Southern and Eastern Asian democracies:
21
India, Japan, South Korea
SS7CG6
The student will compare and
contrast various forms of
government.
c. Describe the two
predominant forms of
democratic governments:
parliamentary and presidential.
22
In a parliamentary form of democratic
government, the people vote for those
who represent the political party they
feel best represents their views of how
the government should operate.
Above: India’s parliament building
23
The legislature the people elect, parliament,
makes and enforces the laws for the country. The
leader of a parliamentary form of government is
usually chosen by the party that wins the majority
of representatives in the legislature. This leader
is often called a prime minister or premier and is
recognized as the head of the government.
Above: Image of the inside of the parliament building where the Indian
National Congress meets. The Indian political parties are the
Samajwadi Party (SM), the Rashtriya Janata Dal Party (RJD)24
and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).
The prime minister leads the executive
branch of the government and must answer
directly to the legislature for the actions
and policies recommended. In many
parliamentary governments, a head
of state serves as ceremonial leader.
Above: Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama
25
The actual work of the parliament is led by the
prime minister, who represents the leading
political party. He or she rules with the help of a
cabinet, or group of advisors. A prime minister
holds power for whatever term of office the
country’s constitution allows. A prime minster may
be voted out of office before the term runs out
if the party he or she leads begins to lose power.
Above: Members of the Loyalist Political Party in India make
up the prime minister’s cabinet.
26
There are several countries in Southern and
Eastern Asia that have parliamentary systems
of government. India is the largest democracy
in the world. The people elect representatives
to the Indian National Congress, and the
majority party in the Congress chooses
who will be the prime minister.
27
Japan is also a good example of a
parliamentary democracy. The Japanese
two-house parliament is called the Diet.
The Japanese Diet holds the real power in
Japan, even if the government also
includes an emperor.
Above: Japanese National Diet Building
28
A presidential form of democratic
government is sometimes called a
congressional from of government. Here a
president, or chief executive, is chosen
separately form the legislature. The
legislature passes the laws,
and it’s the duty of the president to
see that the laws are enforced.
29
The president holds power separately from the
legislature, but he or she doesn’t have the power
to dismiss the legislature or force them to make
particular laws. The president is the official
head of government. The legislature doesn’t
have the power to dismiss the president, except
in extreme cases when the president has broken
a law. The president is both the head of state
and the head of the government.
30
One difference between a presidential and
parliamentary system of government is
that a prime minister is a member of
parliament while a president is a separate
branch of government. In a presidential
system, the president serves
for a set period of time.
31